STEWART, PAUL CLARK
Name: Paul Clark Stewart
Rank/Branch: W2/US Army
Unit: Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Birth: 05 January 1950 (Boulder CO)
Home City of Record: Buena Park CA
Date of Loss: 08 February 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163634N 1062853E (XD582368)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Refno: 1700
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2020.
Other Personnel in Incident: WO Thomas P. Doody; PFC John E. Robertson; SP4
Charles G. Bobo; an ARVN soldier (remains returned)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 8, 1971, WO Thomas P. Doody, pilot; CW2 Paul C.
Stewart, aircraft commander; SP4 Charles G. Bobo, crew chief; and PFC John
E. Robertson, door gunner, comprised the crew of a UH1H helicopter operating
about 10 miles from Lao Bao in Savannakhet Province, Laos on an insertion
mission. During the mission, Stewart radioed the flight leader that his
aircraft had sustained damage to the tail rotor by ground fire, and that he
was returning to the pickup zone, which was about 5 miles inside the South
Vietnam border.
While the aircraft was en route, Stewart radioed that he had inverted and
was going in, and nothing further was heard. The flight leader then observed
a column of smoke coming from the crash site of the helicopter. The Cobra
team accompanying the operation was dispatched immediately, but detected no
signs of survivors in the area of the wreckage.
Several burned remains were seen around the wreckage. It was determined that
the aircraft had crashed, exploded on impact, and burned. The remains were
identified as Doody, Bobo and Robertson. A fourth body was determined to be
that of an ARVN on board the aircraft. No trace of Stewart was found. It
could not be determined whether he burned in the crash or was thrown clear
of the aircraft as it impacted.
CW2 Paul C. Stewart is listed among the missing because he was not found and
return home - dead or alive. Since no trace was found of his death, the
chance of survival, no matter how slim, cannot be ruled out. As thousands of
reports mount that Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia, held against
their will today, one must wonder if one of them could be CW2 Stewart. If
so, what must he be thinking of us?
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02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KYKuEAO
On February 8, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-16307, call sign "Chalk 03") carrying four crew and an unspecified number of South Vietnamese Army passengers took part in a ten-aircraft insertion mission in Laos. As the formation flew to the drop-off point, "Chalk 03" radioed to the flight leader that it had taken damage from enemy ground fire, and was returning to the pickup zone. "Chalk 03" crashed and exploded in the vicinity of (GC) XD 582 368 during its return flight. Search and rescue teams located the wreckage and recovered six sets of remains identifiable as those of Vietnamese passengers, as well as four badly burned sets of remains. Three of these burned remains were later identified as U.S. service members, while the fourth was identified as another Vietnamese passenger. The remains of the fourth U.S. crew member from "Chalk 03" have not been recovered, and he is still unaccounted for.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Paul Clark Stewart, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander aboard "Chalk 03" when it went down, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stewart is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.
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